The Fear
by baichan
Summary: Swallow your fears in a bottle of pills while the shadows slowly consume you. Story includes the first Robin, season one team, a cloud of fear gas, and pills.


When the zeta beam announced Robin's arrival they all turned their heads.

What made them take a second look was the heavy panting.

Sweat covered his face in a sheen and he was doubled over, hands on knees as haggard breaths echoed around the room.

Wally was over in a flash gingerly reaching a hand out to Robin. The others slowly approached him worry and confusion on their faces.

"Dude… Rob, are you okay?"

His hand makes contact and is immediately slapped away, the boy shooting up in a flurry of motion, his cape fluttering as his arms flail.

"G-get away!"

Wide eyes stare back, unseeing and drowning in panic, pupils blown.

Gasps sound around the room and Wally groans inwardly at Artemis' _'Dick?'_

_'Damage control.' _He thinks, trying to make a plan and not just panic.

"Robin. What're you doing here? _Without a mask?" _the last part was hissed, less venomous than panicked.

Robin suddenly grabs the hand that had previously been swatted away.

"... Bats… Cave… _Sh-shadows."_

Robin freezes, stiffening, his heavy panting stopping.

Eyes widening ridiculously, pupils blown.

"C-can only stay in the shadows so long, before they_ consume you!"_

Everyone's silent except for Robin as he continues panting, eyes shifting in paranoia.

Suddenly the hand holding Wally's squeezes, the boy attached too it gasping and moving closer to the group.

"Th-they're coming!"

Wally looks at the spot those huge pupils are staring at and sees nothing.

"There's nothing there."

Robin makes a panicked sound and pushes him away backing up to the wall.

"St-stay away!"

Pressed against the wall Robin's frozen in terror, only twitching and breathing.

"N-no! _No!" _he shouts and fights off some invisible demon, swatting wildly with his hands.

Finally he just screams, a raw, terrifying scream, throat ripping scream, and collapses writhing on the ground.

M'gann's eyes glow green as she attempts to enter his mind and sooth whatever ails the bird.

Robin freezes on the ground.

Suddenly M'gann groans and her eyes fade back to normal.

Robin is up on his knees stumbling up.

He rushes towards M'gann.

"Stay out! Stay out you hear me! They'll eat you_ alive!"_

He grabs her wrists and continues to scream in her face.

"They'll _burn_ you! Gotham_ will burn!"_

Superboy growls and grabs him.

Robin writhes in the hold and continues to scream.

"Gotham will fall to the shadows! It will burn and everyone in it will fester!"

The words run shivers down their spines.

Robin's struggles die down and finally after the animalistic grunts and screams of frustration and _fear_ die down he slumps, only weakly trying to free himself. His voice is hoarse and raspy , probably painful to speak but he does it anyway.

"She'll take everything you love, _everything you've ever loved_, and twist, and _she'll break you with it."_

He chuckles and flops into the hold, body going weak, and shoulder's slumping as his head lolls.

"Everything. Broken."

He lets out a shuddering sigh as he slips into unconsciousness.

Artemis gets close and immediately smells a sickly sweet scent.

"Fear gas." She hisses, backing away.

She's never gotten a full dosage but the sniffs of it she has gotten is enough for her.

Wally clicks Robin's belt off and opens one of the pockets.

He looks at his teammates and points to the pocket.

"This pocket is distinguishable by ridges around it."

He takes out four small sheets of pills.

He shows the first sheet with 4 blue pills wrapped in plastic and metal.

"Pills for the Penguin's nerve gas."

He sets it down and lifts up the next sheet with 4 purple pills.

"The Joker's laughing gas. He changes formulas but this helps against the base."

The next sheet has 4 orange pills and he takes out one of those.

"These are for the Scarecrow's basic formula for fear gas."

Pushing the pill in Robin's mouth he closes his jaw, pinches his nose, and forces him to swallow the pill.

Superboy looks at the last sheet. It has one black pill.

"What's that one for?"

Wally looks at it and shakes his head.

"…Last resort."

Superboy furrows his brow as his mind lists processes information.

_Pis aller 'worst going'_

He looks to M'gann and she nods reaching her hand out, finger going through the plastic, she touches the pill.

Her eyes, half lidded in concentration from reading the chemicals in the pill shoot open and gasping she retracts her hand.

"Th-that would kill him!"

Wally's mouth is in a hard line and he nods.

"A last resort."

He looks at his friend, resting peacefully.

"H-he said he'd never use it but with the freaks in Gotham…"

Wally wants to shrug but can't manage the casual gesture.

Instead he settles for shaking his head as he jams the pill sheets back in the pocket.

The zeta beams announce the arrival of the Bat and he limps in, his appearance haggard.

He's carrying a needle and he looks to Wally.

"I gave him the pill."

Batman nods and injects the needle in his birds arm, depressing the plunger.

"H-he'll be alright."

His voice is hoarse and matches his appearance and they're not sure if he's trying to reassure himself or them.

* * *

**A/N: It said her powers worked to a molecular level so thought maybe she would be able to detect what chemicals are... Idk maybe not...**


End file.
